Wofford gets bye, home game Dec. 1 in FCS playoffs

The Wofford football team gathered at Leonard Auditorium to watch the playoff selection show on Sunday. Coach Mike Ayers, center, reacts with his players and grandson, Max, right, after it was announced that the Terriers will host New Hampshire on Dec. 1.

Published: Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 2:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 2:35 p.m.

It’s home sweet home for Wofford’s football team.

The Terriers on Sunday received a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs, allowing them to spend Thanksgiving with their families, and will return for a second-round home game against New Hampshire at Gibbs Stadium.

Wofford (8-3), which finished its regular season Saturday with a 24-7 loss at South Carolina, is part of a three-way championship in the Southern Conference. New Hampshire (8-3) is part of a four-way championship in the Colonial Athletics Association. They will meet at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals, likely at top-ranked North Dakota State.

“I hope that Spartanburg and the local area will come out and support the national playoffs in our state,” said Wofford head coach Mike Ayers, whose team was tied with South Carolina in the fourth quarter. “I think people understand we do everything we can do to play the game the right way and get the job done.”

Wofford is in the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. The Terriers advanced to the national semifinals in 2003, losing to eventual champion Delaware.

There was a viewing party at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Leonard Auditorium on campus to watch the FCS playoff selection show, where the brackets were revealed. The crowd cheered when the screen showed Wofford at home in the second round.

Twelve in the 20-team field get a first-round bye. Georgia Southern, which received the league’s automatic berth, was named the No. 5 overall seed and will open in the second round against Central Arkansas. Appalachian State, which owns the third share of the title, will play host to Illinois State on that same day.

“We’ve had a great season and I was confident we were in the playoffs,” Wofford linebacker Alvin Scioneaux said. “It was just a matter of where we would fall in the draw. Now it’s time to start getting ready for the game. Hopefully, we can come out with a win.”

“We’re excited,” safety James Zotto said. “We had a good feeling that we’d be in the playoffs, but we weren’t sure if we were going to get a bye. We’re very happy with the bye and also to have a home game. That is awesome.”

The top-five seeds receive home games. The rest of the sites for first- and second-round games are determined after schools submit secret bids to the NCAA.

“We made an aggressive bid. We wanted to go after it,” Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson said. “This team deserves an opportunity to play in front of the home fans. I think Spartanburg will come out and support this team, especially after what happened at South Carolina. What a great effort. I thought it was important that we send a message that this administration and institution will do whatever we can do to help this team advance. We wanted to reward these coaches and players.”

The bye was important because the Terriers have been battling injuries for the past month. Among those are starting quarterback Brian Kass and backup Michael Weimer, both of who tried to return Saturday but went down again. Wofford was also without linebacker Mike Niam. Place-kicker Christian Reed has missed the past five games. The list goes on.

“It’s a football team that is tired and beat up,” Ayers said. “But after we found out we got the bye, we were really excited. Our goal will be to get better and get healthy and put out the best product we can in a couple of weeks.”

Wofford has played eight straight weeks since the open date on Sept. 22. The Terriers had five road trips since then, including back-to-back trips to Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, then a long trip to Birmingham, Ala., two weeks ago to play Samford.

“We’ve had a long season the bye week came early,” Wofford running back Eric Breitenstein said. “It’s just been a crazy grind. We’ve had a lot of guys banged-up and, hopefully, we’ll be better for the playoffs. … When I was walking over here, I said, ‘I don’t care which team we play. I just want that bye week.’ The home game was just a bonus, really. To be able to play in Gibbs Stadium in front of our fans is going to be huge. We’re really looking forward to it.”

<p>It's home sweet home for Wofford's football team.</p><p>The Terriers on Sunday received a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs, allowing them to spend Thanksgiving with their families, and will return for a second-round home game against New Hampshire at Gibbs Stadium.</p><p>Wofford (8-3), which finished its regular season Saturday with a 24-7 loss at South Carolina, is part of a three-way championship in the Southern Conference. New Hampshire (8-3) is part of a four-way championship in the Colonial Athletics Association. They will meet at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals, likely at top-ranked North Dakota State.</p><p>“I hope that Spartanburg and the local area will come out and support the national playoffs in our state,” said Wofford head coach Mike Ayers, whose team was tied with South Carolina in the fourth quarter. “I think people understand we do everything we can do to play the game the right way and get the job done.”</p><p>Wofford is in the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. The Terriers advanced to the national semifinals in 2003, losing to eventual champion Delaware.</p><p>There was a viewing party at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Leonard Auditorium on campus to watch the FCS playoff selection show, where the brackets were revealed. The crowd cheered when the screen showed Wofford at home in the second round. </p><p>Twelve in the 20-team field get a first-round bye. Georgia Southern, which received the league's automatic berth, was named the No. 5 overall seed and will open in the second round against Central Arkansas. Appalachian State, which owns the third share of the title, will play host to Illinois State on that same day.</p><p>“We've had a great season and I was confident we were in the playoffs,” Wofford linebacker Alvin Scioneaux said. “It was just a matter of where we would fall in the draw. Now it's time to start getting ready for the game. Hopefully, we can come out with a win.”</p><p>“We're excited,” safety James Zotto said. “We had a good feeling that we'd be in the playoffs, but we weren't sure if we were going to get a bye. We're very happy with the bye and also to have a home game. That is awesome.”</p><p>The top-five seeds receive home games. The rest of the sites for first- and second-round games are determined after schools submit secret bids to the NCAA.</p><p>“We made an aggressive bid. We wanted to go after it,” Wofford athletics director Richard Johnson said. “This team deserves an opportunity to play in front of the home fans. I think Spartanburg will come out and support this team, especially after what happened at South Carolina. What a great effort. I thought it was important that we send a message that this administration and institution will do whatever we can do to help this team advance. We wanted to reward these coaches and players.”</p><p>The bye was important because the Terriers have been battling injuries for the past month. Among those are starting quarterback Brian Kass and backup Michael Weimer, both of who tried to return Saturday but went down again. Wofford was also without linebacker Mike Niam. Place-kicker Christian Reed has missed the past five games. The list goes on.</p><p>“It's a football team that is tired and beat up,” Ayers said. “But after we found out we got the bye, we were really excited. Our goal will be to get better and get healthy and put out the best product we can in a couple of weeks.”</p><p>Wofford has played eight straight weeks since the open date on Sept. 22. The Terriers had five road trips since then, including back-to-back trips to Georgia Southern and Appalachian State, then a long trip to Birmingham, Ala., two weeks ago to play Samford.</p><p>“We've had a long season the bye week came early,” Wofford running back Eric Breitenstein said. “It's just been a crazy grind. We've had a lot of guys banged-up and, hopefully, we'll be better for the playoffs. … When I was walking over here, I said, 'I don't care which team we play. I just want that bye week.' The home game was just a bonus, really. To be able to play in Gibbs Stadium in front of our fans is going to be huge. We're really looking forward to it.”</p>